


Day 156

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [156]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24561778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [156]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257





	Day 156

Ruvena was woken up from the only good dream she had had in months by the alarm bell. Given everything that had been happening with the mages recently, she wasted no time mourning the loss of sleep.

Strapping on armor was not something that could be rushed, not if one wanted it to be effective, so Ruvena was among the last to reach the muster point for her barrack dormitory. There was a young pimply squire there, directing everyone to the library. He didn’t have a lot of answers for Ruvena when she asked but as far as he knew there were no abominations… yet. He did hand her a willow switch, which would be no good in a life or death struggle but would leave disobedient mages with a few welts they would not soon forget. Not the sort of weapon that would be passed out in the case of open rebellion.

Meredith herself was giving the orders at the library. There was no immediate threat but apparently the mages had all chained themselves to the desks and shelves and were refusing to move until Huon was released from solitary. Ruvena gave the commander a salute ans stood at attention waiting for instruction.

“You trained with Sir Hugh?” Meredith asked.

“Yes Commander,” she said. Something in Meredith's expression made her nervous.

“Hugh is in the library with the mages,” The Commander explained. “He appears to be working with them.”

Ruvena wasn’t sure how to react to that. Hugh had always been softer than he should have been with the mages but he had never given Ruvena reason to suspect he might oppose the Knight Commander. 

“Tensions are already high,” Meredith continued. “The mages have taken no hostile action yet but that could change at any minute. I fear other templars might be persuaded to join Sir. Hugh if this is allowed to continue so only those whose loyalty is beyond question are being let inside the library. Good templars like you. Get Hugh out, and the wind will be knocked from this insurrection.”

Ruvena nodded. She made her way carefully into the library. Just before she went inside she saw the First Enchanter trying to force his way past some other templars towards Ruvena.

“Let me talk to the Knight Commander,” he demanded. “Or let me in with my people.”

“No one is allowed in or out of the library at this time,” someone said. Then the door closed behind Ruvena and everything outside the room was drowned out by the chanting mages.

They were not chantinl in ritual, like when they cast a group spell, but they were shouting out things like “Free Huon,” and “No research for oppressors.” Many of the templars had been shown copies of a mysterious manifesto that had been circulating Kirkwall recently. It seemed that some of these mages had seen it as well.

In the middle of everything was Hugh, in full uniform, standing with the mages. The crowd turned to Ruvena and started chanting at her. She felt a bead of sweat trickle down her neck. If they became violent, she stood little chance against so many. She hopped they understood how precarious their power was here, and how hard Meredith could come down on them. Fortunately no one stopped her as she made her way towards Hugh.

“Hugh,” she said, when she was close enough not to need to shout, “what are you doing?”

“I cannot stand by anymore,” he said. “All men are the work of our Maker's Hands, from the lowest slaves to the highest kings.Those who bring harm without provocation to the least of His children are hated and accursed by the Maker. We are charged with protecting the common folk and mages alike, peace is not served by treating our charges like the enemy.”

“Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him,” Ruvena countered. “Foul and corrupt are they who have taken His gift and turned it against His children. They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones. They shall find no rest in this world or beyond. We can quote scripture back and forth but what do you think Meredith is going to do to you for inciting unrest in the circle.”

“We are taking no action against the templars, we are not interfering with their duties in any way. They choose to leave when the mages chained themselves to the desk they can return-”

Ruvena struck Hugh across the face with her willow switch. The entire room went quiet. The blow had opened a cut along Hugh’s cheek. As he reached a hand up to feel his face, Ruvena pulled him off balance and lifted him over her shoulders. The mages made no move to stop her as she carried her comrade out of the library.

“They won’t stop,” she reported to Meredith. “I got Hugh out but the others won’t come so quietly.”

“As I feared,” Meredith said. 

Ruvena could feel Hugh preparing to speak but she jostled him to steal his breath before he could say anything more incriminating then he already had. 

“Hugh you are confined to your quarters until I have time to deal with you,” Meredith continued either not noticing or pretending not to notice what had just occurred. “Ruvena will escort you there. The rest of you, get in the library and bring those mages out. Break the furniture if you need to.”

Ruvena dragged/carried her former comrade back to the barracks as quickly as she could. She managed to get him out of earshot before he started spouting nonsense again.


End file.
